Marvel's "Avengers: Endgame" will become the highest-grossing film of all time this weekend, parent company Disney said in a statement Saturday. The smash hit was just $500,000 behind the decade-old $2,789.7 million record set by James Cameron's "Avatar" as of Friday, and "will close this gap by tomorrow," it said. The announcement was timed to coincide with the appearance of Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige at San Diego Comic-Con, the world's biggest pop culture fan convention, where he set out a packed schedule of new movies and television shows set in the "Marvel Cinematic Universe."

"I've just heard from our folks in Disney distribution that within a matter of days 'Avengers: Endgame will be the biggest film in history," said Feige. "You have to shout out to James Cameron who held that title for a long time. If you adjust for inflation he still holds the title, and he'll probably get the title again as soon as he puts out another movie." "But for right now today in Hall H, thanks to you, Avengers: Endgame is the biggest film of all time," Feige added to a loud ovation.

The Disney statement announcing the imminent record said the Avatar box office figure had been adjusted upward to reflect additional reissue grosses in overseas territories over the past several years. The figure for Endgame had also been altered by "reconciliation" of overseas grosses "as the film approaches the end of its run," the statement said. Both films are now owned by Disney following its takeover of 21st Century Fox. Disney co-chairman Alan Horn thanked "fans around the world who lifted Avengers: Endgame to these historic heights." "Of course, even with the passage of a decade, the impact of James Cameron's Avatar remains as powerful as ever, and the astonishing achievements of both of these films are ongoing proof of the power of movies," he added.-AFP